It’s the nature of the Guru’s grace to keep you in swift water. Thus you must learn to navigate swift water, and this is where the Bodhicitta comes into play. What we consider our lives are the assembly of our perceptions, and the first nexus point of perception is in the Bodhicitta.

The heart and the mind need each other to operate correctly. This is the essence of the Bodhicitta—they are joined together. The mind alone is an imperfect perceiver. The heart alone is an imperfect perceiver. Knit together they begin to function as they were intended to function.

Bodhicitta is the deep, abiding relaxation of heart and mind which doesn’t try to control everything but sits open—without fear, without judgment, and deeply accepting. You find yourself at the right spot, at the right time, vividly present as you become excruciatingly awake to every fiber of consciousness.